Corset and wearing apparel of a similar character



Jan. 4, 1-949. 5. LEVY CORSET AND WEARING APPAREL OF SIMILAR CHARACTER Filed Sept. 5, 1946 m6 [f%/ W llorney Patented Jan. 4, 1949 CORSET AND WEARING APPAREL OF A SIMILAR CHABAQTER Sabine Levy, Stoken Church, England, assignor to Caprice Limited, London, England, a British comp any Application September 5, 1946, Serial No. 694,969 In Great Britain May 21, 1946 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to corsets and wearing apparel of a similar character that is to garments having a close fitting trunk-encircling portion which is intended to afiord support to the body of the wearer and accordingly includes garments such as corsets, corselettes, girdles, belts and panties which are composed of orincorporate elastc yarn which is stretched when the garment is put on and thus provides constant yielding support for the trunk of the wearer.

Garments of this character are well known which are composed of or incorporate textile fabric made up largely of elastic yarn which is so arranged as to allow the garment to be stretched both in depth and in width, such fabric being known as and hereinafter referred to as two-way stretch fabric. Garments composed entirely of this fabric, particularly corsets, girdles and belts, have been made in a permanently tubular form as distinct from garments which are wrapped around the trunk and temporarily attached at the meeting edges of the garment.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved garment of the kind specified above and accordingly provides such a garment wherein the trunk-encircling portion is comprised wholly or mainly of two-way stretch fabric and is reinforced locally by strips made of one-way stretch fabric, The local reinforcement provided by the invention is, of course, not intended to embrace any longitudinally stretchable strips or encircling bands provided along the top and bottom marginal parts of the trunk-encircling portion, such as at the waistline of corsets or at the lower leg openings of panties. The present invention makes no claim, moreover, to thus locally reinforcing any brassiere portion forming part of a garment which is provided with such local reinforcement in the trunk-encircling portion. The invention is particularly, though not exclusively, applicable to a garment in which the trunk-encircling portion is of permanently tubular form.

In preferred constructions the reinforcing strips extend across the middle area of the front panel and/or the rear panel of the trunk-encircling portion, symmetrical to the vertical centre of the panel to which the strips are applied.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood one embodiment of the invention in the form of a corset garment will now be described in more detail with the aid of the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front view of the garment when laid out fiat, with part of the front panel removed in order to show clearly the local reinforcement applied to the rear panel of the trunkencircling portion, and

Figure 2 is a similar view from the rear, with a part of the rear panel removed in order to show clearly the local reinforcement applied to the front panel.

The corset garment shown in the accompanying drawing consists entirelyof a trunk-encircling portion but will serve to illustrate also the application of the invention to other garments, such as a corset provided with an integral brassiere portion or a corset provided with leg portions to constitute a combined corset and knicker garment- The permanently tubular trunk-encircling garment which forms the corset shown in the accompanying drawing comprises a front panel I and a rear panel 2 made from a single piece of twoway stretch fabric or from two or more pieces joined together. On the insideof the front panel i and centrally thereof is applied by stitching a strip 3 of one-way stretch fabric, that is, a ribbon or tape incorporating longitudinally disposed elastic yarn, the strip 3 extending from the top edge of panel I to the bottom edge thereof. A similar longitudinally stretchable strip 4 is provided at the centre of width of the rear panel 2, and other similar strips 5 may be provided at the junctions between opposite side edges of the front and rear panels. A suitable number of suspenders E are stitched to the lower edges of the front and rear panels I, 2.

On the inside of the upper half of the front panel I, a number of short strips 1 of one-way stretch fabric of tape or ribbon form are applied by stitching, the strips '1 being arranged in pairs to form two symmetrical groups. The strips 1 in each group are shown as parallel one to the other, but may be mutually inclined, and the symmetrical pairs of strips l are inclined downwardly toward the centre strip 3 in chevron formation. These local reinforcement strips 1 which are stretchable longitudinally only are arranged according to the size of the garment and the position which the strips i will occupy when the garment is being worn, so as to follow the course and direction of the muscle fibres of the external oblique muscle. The strips l commence in positions superficial to the usual endpoint of these muscle fibres, where the transition into a nonelastic fibrous membranous sheath for the rectus abdominalis muscle takes place, This muscle runs from the symphysis pubis to the xiphisternum and costal margin and is enveloped in a nondownwards, making with the centre strip 3 an.

acute angle which lies between 30 and 601 The place where the uppermost pair of strips; 1 ad: join the centre strip 3 will be situated at a distance varying from 1" to 4" from theupper edge, of the front panel l, whilst the lowermost pair of strips will reach to within 2 /2" to 4 /2" of the lower anterior margin of the. garments On the inside of the lower half oi the. rearpanel 2 a number of strips 8 of one-way stretch fabric of tape or ribbon form are applied by stitching, the strips 8 being arranged to extend outeqiual distances on opposite sides of thecentre strip 4; The stri 8 need; not; be parallel. one. to the other or of equal lengths, as shown in the drawing, The purpose of: these rear local reinforcement; strips 8,. which. extend substantially horizontal, from the. eastern-lateral regions is. to aiTord support to the posterior portion. at the: plane. or. maximum girth where sagging. oi the eluteal: muscle tissues: is most. likely to. eceun. The. positionin of; the reinforcement, strips: a; in: this. region prevents the.v garment riding up and downand: will. give fixity to all; redundant; muscle and; fiat-t3! tissue. in the. lower. back. and; thus: also improve an unseemly-fi ure... Theposition of the. strips e would vary according to the size of: the arment. but. would normally commence about 2" irem the: loweredge or; the panel 2 and terminate. at 4""1'10. 6!- from the. upper edge thereof. j

The width and. length of the. one-way stretching strips l and: 8t and the. tension of the. elastic.

yarn employed be varied according: to. re-

quirements. A garment may be made in accordance with the invention which employs the front 7 reinforcing strips 1 only or the rear reinforcing strips 8 only, or as shown, both front and rear strips 1 and 8.

A garment. comprising. a, closeefitting. trunkencircling portion of 1 permanent tubular form made up of front and rear panels and fabricated wholly from two-way stretch fabric and strips made. of one-way stretch fabric applied to said trunk-encircling portion to reinforce same locally, I said reinforcing. strips consisting of a plurality of strips extending: in. parallel formation across the lower half oifthe middle area of the rear panel siimmetrioal to. the. Vertical center of said rear paneland of a plurality of strips extending in two sets. in parallel formation and arranged in downward pointing chevron formation in the upper half of the middle areaof the front panel and symmetrical to the vertical; centerof; said front panel. I

SABINE Bureaus-ens omen,

The iollowing references. are or record in thev file. of this patent:

UNITED STATES; PATENTS as'muzu 1 Mar. 5', 1935. Sept. 145,193? July 6,1943 Now. 2.8; 1944 Jasper Feb. 27,,1'945.

tension. PATENTS CZountry Date France Dec. 17', 1912' iiiipperin an Lewis an...

Number McGabe 5- L. Oct. 25, 11 d 

